Motor skill acquisition in children with Down syndrome

Aim. The paper aims to identify the features of motor skill acquisition in children with Down syndrome and to find the most effective methods that allow to improve the efficacy of this process. Materials and methods. The study involved 16 children with Down syndrome aged between 5 and 12. All children are the students of the Center of Adaptive Physical Education for people with health problems (Bez granits [Without limits], Volgograd). The efficacy criteria for our skill acquisition methods were the qualitative parameters of movements evaluated with a 5-point scale. Pedagogical evaluation was performed during 12 lessons 2 times per week. Results. A qualitative assessment of motor skill acquisition allowed to identify that this parameter did not change regardless of the part of the lesson when the motor skill was acquired. Moreover, the results obtained showed that skill acquisition improved when children were publicly praised and mistake correction was passive. It was found that in case of complex movements divided by elements the learning outcome decreased from element to element. The best result was achieved in the first element of a movement. Conclusion. The results obtained show that children with Down syndrome are able to acquire motor skills. This is possible in any part of the lesson. The efficacy of this process can be improved if complex movements are used as a single element, children are publicly praised and mistake correction is passive in its nature.